A lot of White County residents care about the county’s historic areas. That was evident Tuesday night when over 50 people showed up for a public hearing dealing with a historic overlay to the county’s land use map. The hearing was held at the White County Senior Center building.
White County Community and Economic Development Director John Sell told the planning commission board that prior to the initial Historic Preservation Overlay Map being approved, the County would notify in writing those property owners whose property has been recommended for inclusion by the White County Historic Preservation Committee.
Those property owners will be invited to a public meeting conducted by the White County Planning Department staff, where they will have the option to opt out of the Historic Preservation designation. Property owners will also be able to opt out by requesting that in writing directly to the Planning Department.
According to Sell, once the final draft of the map is determined, it will be presented in a public hearing before the Planning Commission and then sent to the Board of Commissioners for their final approval.
To be considered, a site must be at least 90 years old.
Sell said they have a couple of hundred possible sites in the county that could receive that designation. The White County Historical Society, planning commission, board of commissioners, county residents, and property owners can recommend a historic designation.
One item that caught the attention of Planning Board Chairman Charlie Thomas was that designated historic areas would include a 50-foot buffer to protect the area.
“We just need to make sure that we are protecting all the property owners, not just the people in the historical overlay but the neighbor as well. If this person gets in, then it affects the neighbor on the buffer side, so that’s my concern, and that’s something I think that we can address as a board,” he said.
Thomas says they expect to have a recommendation to send to the board of commissioners in the next couple of months. Two planning commission members were absent from this week’s meeting, and Thomas said he wants all members to be present before they take a vote.
